The Justice Department official who pushed for the armed robbery at Mar-A-Lago, which ended up with documents available and the possibility of rummaging through Melania’s underwear drawer, did so retired. Jay Bratt, a more than 30-year veteran of the Justice Department, has tendered his resignation, saying it was “not worth it” to remain in office.
But three sources familiar with the move described it to SpyTalk as a significant and even frightening event, foreshadowing a possible exodus of experienced government lawyers and FBI agents who fear the wrath of Pam Bondi, Trump’s pick for attorney general, Kash Patel , his future nominee for FBI director and the expected army of MAGA loyalists lining up to fill top jobs.
“They are forcing him out. There is no doubt about that [FBI Director Chris] Wray, he’s leaving to forestall the axe,” said a former justice official who attended a going-away party for Bratt at the Justice Department’s seventh-floor media center on Friday.
According to the report, Bratt, a senior executive, is expected to be fired by new Attorney General Pam Bondi and face a lengthy and costly “wrongful dismissal” lawsuit in order to be allowed to retire a la Andrew McCabe.
According to books and reports on the subject, the FBI did not want to conduct a SWAT-style, shoot-at-home raid on Mar-a-Lago, but Bratt insisted; see The Battle Over the Mar-a-Lago Raid: Some FBI Officials Were Concerned About the DOJ’s Ultimate Goal.
After obtaining evidence that Trump associates may have moved unreturned boxes at Mar-a-Lago, Bratt later pushed for a search warrant for the president’s home – a move supported by FBI top FBI chief Steven D’Antuono. was rejected by an agent overseeing the case who viewed the prosecutor as overly “aggressive,” they say Where tyranny begins: The Justice Department, the FBI and the War on Democracya book by veteran journalist David Rhode. However, D’Antuono’s objections were rebuffed by senior FBI officials, leading to an FBI search of Mar-a-Lago in August 2022 that seized an additional 102 documents with secret markings. The search enraged Trump, putting both Bratt and FBI Director Wray in the crosshairs of the former president and his lawyers.
BACKGROUND:
Breaking News: FBI Searches Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Home; DOJ declines comment – RedState
Confirmed: DOJ admits FBI seized ‘privileged attorney-client information’ in Mar-a-Lago raid – RedState
Yes, the Mar-a-Lago raid was extraordinary, but the “lethal force” language in the operational order was not – RedState
NEW: Unsealed documents in Trump Mar-a-Lago case reveal even more how ridiculous the raid was – RedState
Bratt was too credibly accused to pressure the lawyer for Trump’s valets at Mar-a-Lago to get his client to testify against Trump in exchange for a federal judgeship.
In addition, Stanley Woodward, an attorney representing Walt Nauta, a co-defendant in your classified case against President Trump, accused you of exerting undue pressure on him by suggesting that the Biden administration was supporting Mr. Woodward’s candidacy would view a judge’s office more favorably if his client cooperated with the special counsel’s office.10 According to Mr. Woodward, you told him that you “wouldn’t want to [him] “Doing whatever you can to mess this up,” in reference to Mr. Woodward’s application for judgeship and your desire to turn his client into a government employee.
Somehow we should all be concerned about the mass exodus of “experienced government lawyers and FBI agents” targeting President Trump and members of his team from 2017 to 2021. They could have learned a valuable life lesson by watching the HBO series “The Wire” before engaging in a political war against the once and future president.
The more people resign, the less drama there will be and more seats can be filled by people who just want to do their jobs and have no interest in eliminating political figures or launching a cushioned coup against the White House.
